Like Fathers like Daughter
by TiffaniLouise
Summary: Juliet Holmes-Watson is like her father in many ways. Except that she is young and experiencing love for the first time, she can't stop herself from falling from an older guy, James. The relationship causes a bigger tear in her family than was already there, but Sherlock's meddling only pushes her towards James, a man whose only goal is to break her heart.
1. Smiley Face

**Like fathers like daughter**

**Smiley face **

Juliet was reclined in the armchair, her long legs outstretched, arms wide and head bent back over the chair. Her mass of black curls were fastened at the back of her head in a fishtail plait, she was clad in a pair of red shorts and a white vest that stopped above her belly button. The black strap of her bra was visible against her milky skin. She signed loudly, brought her right hand up, across her chest and fired the gun she had been holding. Her face was firmly fixed in the direction of the kitchen as she shot another three times at the wall to her left.

"What shall we do today?" She asked, turning to the wall she had been shooting at. She looked at the new pink smiley face that she had sprayed on the wall and shot at. When the smiley face didn't answer she sighed again, this time louder but continued speaking to the smiley face anyway. "I envy you, so happy without even trying but I suppose I created you that way. Now you mock me with your happiness." She lifted the gun again and shot at the face again, the bullet going through the wall above the mouth and below the eyes, in the exact position of a nose. She smiled.

The front door opened and slammed shut, Juliet rolled her eyes and took the clip out of the gun, disarming it. She stood bracing herself for the arrival of her parents and Detective Inspector Lestrade.

John was the first through the door, his face alive with worry, the once blonde but greying hair slightly windblown. Without saying a word Juliet threw the gun at him, Sherlock stepped through the door second, she threw the clip at him. They both caught them easily, John sighing loudly.

"Bored" she said in explanation, their eyes finding the pink smiley face on the wall as Greg stepped into the lounge.

"So you thought you'd shoot at the wall?" John asked annoyed, he crossed the room and put the gun in the desk draw.

"The wall had it coming" she answered, standing up and walking into the kitchen, she came back in a minute later holding a tray with a tea pot, cups, sugar and milk, anticipating their arrival for some time. Sherlock had already settled in the arm chair she had been sitting in, his coat and scarf off, black curls windblown and cheeks slightly pink from the changing on heat from hot to cold. John was sat on the sofa and Greg in the other arm chair. She placed the tray on the coffee table in front of John, sat down next to him and continued in a softer tone "the wall has been intimidating me for the best part of three hours. I just wanted it to have a friendlier face, always so cold and un-wielding, now the wall smiles." Juliet turned to look at the wall, smiling at her creation.

"Miss Hudson will charge us for that" John muttered in response, knowing better to question her on the matter further. He also remembered the time he had walked in on Sherlock doing the exact same thing in a fit of boredom.

"I have settled the debt in advance to avoid any inconveniences" she answered.

"How thoughtful" Sherlock murmured sarcastically, she glared at him.

"I'm bored" she moaned, sinking into the sofa.

Sherlocks eyes widened and he turned to look at her "homework?"

"Done" she said quickly. John lent forward and started pouring the tea, he added a splash of milk into her cup and five heaped tea spoons of sugar, before stirring it and handing it to her. Juliet's hands clapped around the hot mug and she blew at the tea.

Sherlocks eyes scanned the room, they settled on his violin which was now out of the case. "What's wrong with your own violin?" He raised his eyes rows, rose from the chair and placed the violin back in its case, he grabbed the two cups of tea made for him and Greg as he walked back to the chair.

"Mines in my bedroom, I had the sudden need to compose about an hour and fifteen minutes ago." Juliet answered, the phrase 'pot calling kettle black' in her mind. Her blue eyes moved to Lestrade, he was sat content in the arm chair watching them converse, she smiled at him "I've been rude in ignoring you" she addressed him, placing her cup on the table and moving to the edge of her seat. She rested her head in her hands, elbows on her knees ready to listen to him. She continued "the case?"

Greg gave a small smile "we have three tourists, all killed by what appears to be a trained killer using a curved sword."

"A curved sword…" she repeated, thinking about the weapon, which seemed outdated to her. "Seems a strange choice of weapons, especially in this day and age, I mean we're no longer in the middle-ages. The weapon must have some significance otherwise he wouldn't use it, I assume it's part of his chosen style of killing" Greg's nod confirmed that for her. "How interesting…"

"Quite" Sherlock grumbled, Juliet's eyes went to him and she sighed.

"Fine, you want me gone so you can talk, I understand" she said as she got up from the sofa, making her way towards the door "I do hope that you realise that I am no longer a child soon, I am getting dreadfully bored of being sent out of the room every time you want to talk about a case." She ran up the stairs, calling behind her as she went "see you later Greg" Juliet could faintly hear him say his farewell as she reached the top of the stairs, she pushed open her door and stepped into her room.

The room was exactly how she had left it hours ago. The walls covered in a selection of different wallpapers, four different wallpapers for each wall – turquoise superfresco pattern on a beige background, dark purple linen effect, a white paper with various coloured butterflies on and a misty forest scene paper. Pages of notes, pictures, newspapers, online articles were stuck on various patches of the wall with string connecting them. Her wardrobe was shut, a built in closet, the doors made out of wood with a skull carved into it. She also had a chest of draws in matching wood to the doors of her closet, a dark heavy wood. The top clean, only her phone, iPad, iPod and chargers on there. A vanity table made out of similar wood was scattered with various cosmetic items, a mirror lent against the wall. A painted silver chair with clack cushions was pushed underneath the table. On the other side of the room, under the window sat a sturdy desk that was a mess of papers, books and an expensive apple laptop. The desk had two separate sets of three draws that were filled with various items that ere of use to her. A grey desk chair was positioned next to it, ready for her to sit in. In the corner of the room, by the door was a tall mirror that stretched towards the ceiling and was situated in a silver painted old fashioned frame. The double bed was pushed slightly to the right of the room on accord of the closet on the left side of the wall, the wooden frame was also dark. The bed decorated with a white duvet cover with a black and white sketch of a bird on a tree, the pillows matches. She had two distinctive covers, that one that was currently on and another that is plum coloured with dark vines on. A black fluffy throw was strewn up at the bottom of the bed along with a matching pillow. The bed was decorated with two patterned pillow – one light blue with a cartoon style skull on and the other a beige map design. Under the bed was her musical equipment, a keyboard, acoustic guitar, violin and a black electric guitar.

Juliet sighed; kicking the door shut and sat on her bed. The boredom that consumed her before her parents returned with Greg had become to consume her again, her body was slightly run down from lack of sleep, she needed to rest. She fell backwards, laying down on her bed, she lifted her hips off the bed and pulled off the shorts she was wearing, chucking them on the floor by the closet. She rolled onto her front, pulling the black throw over her and the matching pillow under her head. Juliet was lying across the bed sideways, not in the traditional style but she didn't care, all she needed was some rest and she preferred to lay comfortably. She shut her eyes tightly and waited for sleep to wash over her, as an aid she thought of only a calm ocean not wanting to get her brain in overdrive again. Within minutes she had fallen asleep, her head filled with different musical compositions as she slept.

Juliet woke to the dark room, she stretched out, pushing away the throw and pillow. She sat up, distinctively remembering the light on when she walked in, John must have checked on her and turned it out, it was a habit he had.

She leapt up off the bed, landing safely on the balls of her feet. Juliet opened the door and began walking down the stairs, her thirst washing over her. The flat was dark and quiet except a small light emulating from the longue and the sounds of feet scuffing against the floor. She listened closer knowing that neither John or Sherlock scuffed their feet, Sherlock especially wouldn't, he walked with elegance and was the only one likely to be awake at this time of night. The sounds of a struggle were also audible, papers falling, grunts and big movements. She frowned as she took the last few stairs "if you two are having sex in the living room again I swear…" she trailed off at the sight of her father fighting off an attacker is a large curved sword. The attacker had Sherlock pushed back in the armchair with his sword at his throat, as he dad tried to push the weapon back.

"Excuse me" she snapped, alerting both men to her presence, they both looked at her. The attacker moved, using the hilt of the sword to hit Sherlock on the side of his face. Sherlock jerked at the contact, the attacker peeling his sword away from him and lifting it over his head, turning ready to attack her. He swiped at her in a downwards movement, she dodged it easily, moving out of the way, the attacker again brought the sword over his head ready to strike again. She spoke calmly "you do not come into my house attempt to kill my father then try to kill me at three o'clock in the morning, have some curtsey."

The attacked cocked his head slightly before stepping forward, before he had time to attack again Juliet jumped up grabbing the doorframe. She swung her body forward lifting her feet up and kicking the attacker in the torso. The man fell backwards, falling on the coffee table, causing the wood to break on impact. The sword fell from his hand as he lost consciousness. "you're welcome" she breathed as she dropped herself from the doorway onto her feet, she crossed the room to Sherlock whose face was bleeding from being hit with the sword.

"Are you ok Dad?" she asked, kneeling in front of him. She brought her hand across the tear in the skin, it was deep but mostly superficial, a few stitches would take care of the wound and leave him without a scar.

"I'm fine" he grumbled "where did you learn to do that?" he asked, his eyes moving to the doorway.

"Saw it on a film somewhere, didn't think it could be done but it seemed to do the job alright." She smiled at him. "I'll restrain him and get the first aid kit."

Juliet moved towards the kitchen, gathering some duck-tape and cable ties from the miscellaneous draw. When she came back into the longue she checked the attacker for any more weapons before using the duck-tape to cover his mouth, then used the cable tied to bind his hands and feet.

She moved the sword onto the mantel piece and grabbed Sherlock's mobile, dialling Greg.

"Sherlock, it's three in the morning" the voice said groggily on the end.

"It's Juliet, there's been a break in at Baker Street. I believe he is the killer you have been looking for." She responded simply.

"Are you alright? Why are you using Sherlock's phone?" he asked, the concern alive in his voice and the sounds of his getting ready to come see her.

"Yeah we're fine, Sherlock has a cut but noting major. I knocked the attacker out, he's unconscious and bound, my phones up stairs" she offered for explanation.

"I'm on my way" he said before she hung up the phone. She turned back to Sherlock who was still sat in the chair, looking annoyed "you're going to need stiches, I could attempt them myself but you will be more likely to get a scar, I'll get dad to do them for you."

"No, there's no need to worry him" Sherlock said, screwing up his face slightly.

Juliet cocked her head to the side "he's going to figure it out when the police arrive, might as well get him to sew your face back together before that."

Sherlock sighed in defeat, Juliet walked out of the room, down the hallway and knocked on the door to her parents room. There were sounds of movements as she opened the door and spoke quietly "Dad…Dad…" she called.

John stirred, rubbing his eyes "what's wrong?" he asked, the tiredness clear in his voice.

"It's dad, that killer you were looking for broke in, he needs some stitches in a cut on his face." She answered.

"What? Are you okay?" he asked frantically, pushing himself out of bed. The covers pooled away from him, revealing his tatty pyjama bottoms and top.

"Yeah I'm fine" he pulled her into a hug, she wrapped her arms around him willingly "the man was trying to kill Dad, I just stopped it, knocked him out."

She pulled away from him and led him into the longue where Sherlock was sat with an annoyed look on his face, they grabbed the first aid box from the bathroom on the way. John rushed over to his side, brushing his fingers over his cheekbone and accessing the wound. "You stupid detective" he spoke more mocking then compassionate. Sherlock let out a small laugh.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring this into our home, not after last time. He came in through the bathroom window and surprised me" Sherlock said quickly.

John hushes him "I know, I know" he swallowed, grabbing some gloves, a sealed needle and the surgical thread. He pulled the gloves on, grabbed an anaesthetic wipe and dabbed at the wound. Sherlock hissed at the contact but suppressed it after a moment.

The sounds of sirens from outside became louder, Juliet gave a small reassuring smile "I'll go let them in" she said, retreating out of the room and down the stairs. She picked the key up from behind the mirror in the hallway and opened the door.

"Greg" she breathed as he pulled her into a hug, she let him, not struggling against the contact.

"Is everything one ok?" he asked, pulling away.

She nodded, allowing him to follow her up the stairs. "Sherlock got wacked with the swords hilt, John stitching up the wound now."

"Are you ok?" he asked as they reached the top of the stairs, she gave him a questioning look.

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked in response as she led them into the longue.

He sighed "someone was trying to kill your dad, that can be considered as quite traumatic."

She shook it off, walking into the longue, she moved over to her parents. John had just finished with Sherlock's stitches, he stood up ready to discard of the equipment.

Greg looked over the room, the unconscious body of the attacker, the injured Sherlock then to Juliet. He asked "And how did the attacker end up unconscious on a broken table with his hands and feet bound?"

Juliet gave a small cough "well I came downstairs to get a drink, saw Sherlock almost getting his throat cut by our attacker. Confronted him, he then attempted to kill me" she gestured to the line in the wallpaper where the sword had hit the wall "I applied a simple manoeuvre where I used the doorway to swing myself forward, hitting the killer in the torso. He fell backwards through the table, I bound him after checking on Sherlock, I disarmed him also. The sword is on the mantel piece."

"Ok, we we'll process the scene" Greg turned, gesturing to the policeman behind him.

"Juliet, can you come here?" John asked from the kitchen, obediently she moved into the kitchen. John closed the door behind her and looked her up and down. "Your, you are…." He pointed towards the lower part of her body, she followed the direction and blushed at the sight of herself in her underwear. She was thankful that she had picked simple red hipsters.

"in my underwear" she finished.

"Why don't you get a drink, go back to bed, it's late and you have school tomorrow." He said calmly "I'll take care of all this."

She nodded at him "ok, thanks dad" she ducked out the door leading to the hallway, ran up the stair and into her bedroom. Without turning her light on she crawled back into her bed. She closed her eyes hoping that sleep would consume her quickly. It didn't.


	2. Mundane

**Mundane**

Juliet was awake when her alarm was going off, the ringing piercing her mind but she didn't want to turn it off. The sound filled the silence that she had been battling against for the rest of the night, since going back to bed. The sounds of the police downstairs or her parents were minimal, the sound of the streets had become louder with every hour but it was still only quarter past six and the streets were not yet alive. The sounds of John climbing up the stairs disturbed her slightly, she moved her head a little but not a lot.

"Juliet" he said from the other side of the door.

"Yes, you can come in." she responded. John opened the door, crossed the room and turned off the alarm that was sat on the bedside table.

"Your alarm has been going off for five minutes, why didn't you turn it off?" John asked slightly concerned, her opened her closet and pulled out her school uniform for her like he used to when she was a kid.

"The sound it filled the silence" she answered meekly, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and sitting up.

"Didn't get much sleep then" he said quickly, sitting on the bed besides her. She shook her head in confirmation, he put his arm around her and she leant into him.

"I may have got fifteen minutes or so at about four o'clock" she said weakly.

John gave a small smile "go have a shower, breakfast will be ready in fifteen minutes" she nodded against his shoulder and stood up. He watched her stretch out for a minute before going back downstairs to get dressed and finished breakfast.

Juliet glanced at the school uniform and sighed loudly, seventeen, in her second year of sixth form and still wearing a school uniform. The uniform was dark blue, a long skirt that reached just above the knee with a matching blazer, with the schools crest on the breast pocket. The white shirt was long sleeved with a grey sweater vest to wear over the top, matching socks and black shoes that she always swapped for boots. She hated the uniform almost as much as she hated the school, the snobby classmates and stupid teachers often boring her.

She crossed the room, opened the top draw of her chest, picked up a plain white bra that was decorated with silver threads and some black Brazilian style knickers. She pulled her silk kimono style dressing gown off the back of the door on the way downstairs to the bathroom. The bathroom door was ajar, as a signal that nobody was in there, she walked in, locking the door behind her. She turned the shower on, placing her clothes on the side and stripped, throwing the worn clothes into the washing hamper before stepping into the hot shower. The water ran off her body in long streams, she smiled at the contact, enjoying the sensation.

After five minutes, she had washed her hair and body to the point of cleanliness. She stepped out of the shower, grabbing a medium sized towel from the rack and dabbing her body dry, she pulled on the underwear, followed by the dressing gown. She ringed out her hair for a couple of minute, she threw the towel into the hamper, pulled her hair back in a clip and stepped out of the bathroom.

The moment she stepped into the kitchen, she was met with the smell of pancakes, she screwed up her face in confusion "pancakes? It's a weekday." Pancakes, or more specifically, John's American pancakes were a weekend or holiday treat.

"Thought we all deserved a treat" John answered, turning to show her his smile. He looked refreshed in some jeans, a checked shirt and cardigan.

Sherlock sat opposite to her as John placed down the stack of pancakes. Sherlock's cheek was still slightly red from last night, he was dressed in his normal attire – black trousers, blazer and a white shirt. He reached forward to grab the pancakes, Juliet used her fork to swat his hand away and grabbed three of the pancakes, still steaming hot.

"What was that for?" Sherlock asked, annoyed.

Juliet smiled "Dad cooked these for me because I'm traumatised" she mocked.

Sherlock grumbled "Traumatised? I was the one who got attacked last night, that gives me greater pancake rights."

Juliet held her heart dramatically "and I was your poor, defenceless daughter, who was witness to the attempted murder of her father. And if that wasn't enough I had to fight him off." She poured maple syrup over her pancakes and a handful of raspberries before cutting into the pancakes and taking a bite.

"Fighting over pancakes, just when I thought that you two couldn't surprise me any further" John mumble as he took his seat next to the both of them.

They ate in silence, the sounds of their cutlery against the plate filling the room. Juliet finished first, having not eaten anything vast for the past three days. She pushed her chair back, picked up her plate and cutlery and placed them in the sink before going back upstairs. She didn't need to explain that to her parents because they were fully aware that she needed to get ready for school.

She closed the door to her bedroom, she sat down at her vanity table and looked at herself. Her face was pale and the same as always, her cheekbones sharp, lips pink and eyes blue. Like Sherlock her eyes seemed to vary in colour from blue to grey. She opened the draw, pulling out a cosmetic bag. She started with mascara on her long lashes, curling them further out of her eyes, accentuating the length. She added afterwards a simple line of blue liquid liner. She then brushed the knots out of her long black hair, the hair had already began to dry, she aided it by blow drying it for a few minutes. When she was done the curls were messy and vibrant, she then put on the uniform, making sure to push the socks down, pull the skirt up, roll the sleeves up on both her shirt and blazer then put on the ankle boots.

She glanced at herself in the mirror, the same sight as always greeting her. She picked up the brown leather bag from the end of her bed, shoving some books and papers from the desk and pushing them inside. She sighed before leaving the room, ready to make herself some sort of breakfast. Sherlock and John were both sat in the armchairs, Sherlock deep in thought while John was reading the paper out loud, as a means to inform Sherlock of any interesting cases.

Juliet threw her bag and blazer on the sofa, disturbing her parents slightly as she moved into the kitchen. She opened the fridge, picking up a bottle of peach ice tea and another of water. She looked at the food, deciding on an apple and picked that up too. She pushed them into her school bag and moved over to the bookshelf.

"Is there anything new to read?" she asked hopefully, she had over the course of her life read most of the books in Baker Street.

"No" John answered before returning his attention to his paper and his partner.

Juliet sighed loudly, she grabbed a leather bound copy of _The Picture of Dorian Gray _by Oscar Wilde and decided that would suffice for the day but she would have to make a trip to the library soon.

She looked at the first page before putting the book in her bag. It would be approximately ten past seven that left he with fifty minutes to get to school. "I'm leaving" she said, throwing the bag over her shoulder carelessly and placing the blazer over her bag.

The walk was usual, the morning slightly colder than usual but she had no doubt that she would warm up. Within forty-five minutes she was outside the school gates, slightly early but that didn't matter. It gave her fifteen minutes to read before heading to tutor. Twenty minutes later she was in English Literature, the teacher was young and fairly attractive considering his choice in jumpers and wide framed glasses. He chose her to read one of the poems from the topic _Love through the ages_, she chose her favourite Shakespeare's _sonnet 19._

_"Devouring Time, blunt thou the lion's paws, And make the earth devour her own sweet brood; Pluck the keen teeth from the fierce tiger's jaws, And burn the long-lived phoenix in her blood; Make glad and sorry seasons as thou fleets, And do whate'er thou wilt, swift-footed Time, To the wide world and all her fading sweets; But I forbid thee one most heinous crime: O, carve not with thy hours my love's fair brow,Nor draw no lines there with thine antique pen; Him in thy course untainted do allow For beauty's pattern to succeeding men. Yet, do thy worst, old Time: despite thy wrong,My love shall in my verse ever live young."_

Mister Gray smiled as she read, happy with her choice and happier that it was one of her favourites he commented "excellent choice and perfectly read, I trust you understand the poem?"

Juliet nodded and answered "like I was the author."

This made her teacher chuckle slightly, he told her to write an essay on the text with whatever question she thought would challenge herself the most. She was given different tasks to the other students due to her vast knowledge of the texts and intellect.

The next class was Biology, they worked individually through test papers, and were set the same for homework. After was break, which Juliet spent reading in the courtyard under the tree, twenty minutes later she was back inside for class. She had a one on session with her science teacher during a 'study period' to study chemistry and physics, which she was unable to have timetabled due to clashes. Instead she took four extra lessons on top of her four time tabled lessons. It was part of her being a the spawn of a genius and a doctor, and whatever her mother could have been if she didn't die. It had taken a lot of convincing to get her the extra four lessons and endless meetings with her teachers and the head mistress.

Her next lesson was music, she spent the first fifteen minutes with the teacher, talking over her choice of song for the school concert, giving a presentation on the writing and rehearsal process. After she and her classmates practiced for the concert, going over the grey points of the pieces and making sure that they were refines enough.

Juliet went to the court yard again for lunch, she sat in bliss eating her apple and reading, she made annotations on the text for later reference.

After lunch she had another free which she spent in the courtyard doing her art coursework, she had specifically chosen to study life in all its glory, the city life. She drew a sketch of a boy on a motorbike who stopped outside her school for about ten minutes, she then moved on to drawing the other people on the streets outside.

When the bell rang, she went back to the art room and collected together her folder and some supplies for the night – paints, pencils, paper, her book. She arrived slightly late to tutor and fifteen minutes after she was free. By five past two she was free, it was unusually early for a London school but wouldn't question it because it meant she was free earlier than some of the other kids in London.

Juliet went straight to work, one of the places she worked, a small café fifteen minutes away from her school. When she arrived, she changed into the clothes she had left in her locker, a black top with the cafes logo on the front and back, tight black trousers. She kept her boot on and added a dark red apron on that tied around her waist.

It was two and a half hours of serving customers, making various beverages, serving food and cleaning some of the tables afterwards. Instead of changing she folded her uniform and put it in her school bag, leaving on her work uniform so she could wash it when she got home. Her work colleague, a cute guy named Leo, he was scatty, the same age as her, went to the same school and had wealthy parents. He had brown hair that was short at the back and longer at the front, the waves falling over his forehead just above his eyebrows. He had warm brown eyes and wore big lensed glasses over them to help him read.

She put her apron in her locker, grabbed her school bag and art folder. She spoke to Leo before leaving "see you next time"

He smiled, passing over a black coffee with four sugars in a travel cup to her. She smiled at him in thanks as he spoke "yeah, I look forward to it. Are you looking forward to the concert on Thursday?" he asked, beginning to wipe down some of the sides.

"Yes, my parents are coming along with my uncle and his partner, so I hope I won't disappoint them."

He smiled "you won't, you're a natural, the song choice is amazing and you have a great guy supporting you on guitar" he said modestly.

"Yes I do" she said in confirmation, knowing that they were both talking about him. "I'll see you later." She muttered before leaving. She was amazed to find someone so similar to herself, Leon was studying English like her, enjoyed art music and worked in the same café. Although they didn't spend that much time together, they had become quite good friends and she hoped that they would hang out more.

Thirty minutes later she was back at Baker Street, she placed her art stuff on the table, which was surprisingly clean and lacking any of Sherlock's science equipment. She took her school bag upstairs, and hung her uniform back up to be worn tomorrow. She then stripped out of her work uniform, replacing it with some jeans and a white top, she scooped up the clothes and placed them in the wash basket in the bathroom.

Juliet got on doing her art work.

"Juliet" a voice called from besides her, snapping her out of her artistic mood.

"Dad" she responded, she took her eyes off the pages she had been working on, one was a pencil drawing of a crowded London street which she had copied from the image in front of her. The picture had a crowd of people walking around in the rain, some with umbrellas, some without. On the other page was a half-finished painting of the same image.

John laughed at his daughter, she had paint on her face and arms, as well as pencil across the sidesof, her right hand. "They're good" he said in observation both images detailed. "want a break?" he asked hopefully, she nodded.

He walked into the longue, a bag of toffee popcorn on the sofa and a film in the DVD player.

She followed him, a towel in hand as she wiped away the pencil and pain smudges.

They sat down together watching a film about a man who tracked down his daughter after she had been kidnapped, they snacked on the popcorn, his arm around her shoulder. When the film ended John made the decision to go to bed, he had an early shift at the surgery. Juliet the finished her painting, after the sat in the arm chair working on her essay for Mr Grey, she had chosen to talk about the presentation of love in the poem. She was halfway through when Sherlock walked in, they didn't even acknowledge each other. Instead he walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water. He paused in the kitchen, calling out "its…this is good."

She smiled at the attempt of a compliment "thanks dad" she replied knowing that would be the best things he could say about her artwork or anything that she did.

"Shouldn't you be in bed?" he asked, re-entering the room with the bottle of water in his hands.

"Homework" she muttered in response.

"Why haven't you already done that?" he questioned.

"I did do it earlier but I am taking the opportunity to write it down" she said before snapping in response "I've been busy."

"Go to bed" he murmured as he sat down in one of the arm chairs.

"You go to bed" she said in response.

"I'm the parent, not you." He said quickly as if it changed something.

"Trivial" she stated, she gathered up her notepad, pen and the poem book and went upstairs wanting to finish the essay in peace.


	3. Wednesday

**Wednesday**

Juliet smiled at her uncle, he placed the tea in front of her "thank you" she said. He would have no doubt used her favourite, PG tips, which happened to be his own favourite. For as long as she could remember, she had been spending Wednesday's afterschool with Mycroft. They would talk about stuff, play chess and she would undoubtedly question him about his jobs and the things happening in the country.

Mycroft nodded in acknowledgement "I hear that you had a disturbance at Baker Street last night."

She smiled, knowing that he would know all about it from Greg and various other sources. He would have also been in bed with Greg when she called him. "Sorry if I woke you" he gave a small gesture to say that it was no problem before putting his finger against his cheek. "I went downstairs for a drink, found Sherlock with a sword to his throat. I distracted him slightly, he hit Sherlock then came after me. I was lucky enough to knock him unconscious, breaking the coffee table in the process."

"Impressive" he stated simply.

"Is it?" she asked curiously.

"You were able to knock unconscious a trained killer, who attacked you with a sword. You then subdued him. I have people in my employment less able then you." he said quite seriously.

Juliet picked up her cup and sipped at her tea. She was aware of his gaze on her, she took the cup away from her lips and spoke quickly "Are you coming to the concert tomorrow?"

He smiled "wouldn't miss it" he insisted, she smiled at him in response.

"Thanks" she said, knowing how difficult it would have been for him to get time out of his schedule.

"Is there anything you would like to talk about in particular?" he asked. He was obviously aware of the concerns that she was having or could sense it.

"It's about the future." She started, placing the cup on the table besides her and intertwining her fingers. "I'm taking four subjects, not including the additional subjects. When I finish at the end of the year I'll have eight different A-levels for English literature, music, biology, maths, physics, chemistry, Fine art and Psychology. I know that there are expectations for me to get a good education and not waste it, I will qualify with good grades. The school will be expecting university applications by the end of the months, but I'm not sure…I don't know if…" her voice trailed off, she had no intentions of disappointing her family.

"Of going to university" he finished for her. She nodded in response and he continued with a small smile. "There are great things expected of you Juliet, you are an intelligent young woman with your life ahead of you but your choices are your own. Good or bad decisions change us, make us who we are, your life is your own and what you chose to do with it, is your own choice."

She nodded "I don't want to disappoint anyone; I don't even though what I would study."

"Perhaps a visit to a university to discuss your options would be beneficial." He suggested.

"Oxford would be the obvious choice wouldn't it? It's where you and Sherlock went, your father before you and his before him, it seems to be a tradition of sorts." She spoke quickly.

"It would seem an appropriate choice for you, you have other ideas though." He answered, he picked up his tea and sipped at the amber liquid.

Juliet ducked her head slightly as she confirmed his suspicions "I want to help, do my bit like my dad…" she knew that he would be questioning which father and clarified "like John. I mean what Sherlock does is amazing, he catches killers but John served his country, risked his life to save others."

"You're wondering if that may be the correct path for you." He clarified.

She nodded in response "Honestly. I'm not Sherlock, I have his looks and some of his attributes but I'm not him, I'm not you, I haven't got your minds and I might not be smart enough for Oxford, I'm not brave enough for the army, so what can I do?"

"It is my belief that you should consider every path carefully, talk to your parents and try to figure it out. You have time to think everything over."

She nodded "thanks" she hadn't been looking forward to this conversation but felt better for it "I better be going, it's my turn to cook dinner." Mycroft gave a nod, she stood, kissed him on the cheek and shrugged on her blazer, picking up her school bag she walked out of the room. "see you tomorrow" she called behind her as she left.

The blacked out car was waiting out front to take her home, she got in obediently and greeted Mycroft's assistant "Hey, can you drop me off at the closets super market to Baker Street?" she asked.

The brunette nodded, her eyes still on her phone "Yes Miss Holmes"

Within ten minutes she was at the local Tesco collecting ingredients to make dinner. Half an hour later she was in the kitchen of her flat, apron tied around her waist, chopping ingredients.

John walked in an hour and a half later, the kitchen table had been laid and the food placed in serving bowls, homemade spaghetti bolognaise. Juliet was sat at the table a book in her hand "Bram Stokers Dracula, is that a new one?" John asked as he sat down at the table, he served himself up some dinner and began eating. She closed the book, marking the page and line she had finished on in her mind and smiled at him.

"A friend lent it to me" she answered, she served herself up some of the spaghetti and sauce, sprinkled over some cheese and bean eating.

"Which friend? A boy?" he questioned, raising his eyebrow mockingly.

"Leo" she answered simply, she took another mouthful of food before explaining "he goes to my school, we are on some of the same course, he also works at the coffee shop, we were talking earlier and he suggested that I read Dracula, he lent me his copy."

"and this boy Leo, is he attractive?" John asked, Juliet raised an eyebrow at him and he apologised "sorry but I had to ask."

"Yes" she answered "he is attractive in a geeky way. Brown hair and hazel eyes, he wears wide framed glasses to read. You'll see him tomorrow, he'll be the other guitarist in my performance." John nodded.

"Do you like this boy?" He asked.

"He's nice, we have a lot in common. We're not close or anything but he's a good friend and he would be a very good choice for boyfriend but we are just friends." She answered, seeing no point in lying as she and John often told each other everything.

"good answer" he mocked, she laughed then .

The sound of the door alerted them to Sherlock's presence, she stood picked up another place mat, cutlery and a plate. Sherlock looked at her questioningly and she explained "Greg" he nodded as she sat back down.

"Dinner" she called as clarification as Sherlock and Greg appeared in the doorway "join us Greg" she commanded instead of asking.

"I'd love to" Greg said simply, taking off his coat and placing it on the back of the chair before sitting down. Sherlock placed his coat in the longue before returning and sitting down at the table with them.

Silence loomed over them as they ate, Juliet cleared her throat. "I was talking to Mycroft earlier about the future and stuff. I've been trying to narrow down the possibilities, I'm still unsure" she looked up, aware that all their eyes were on her "if I want to go to University, he pointed out that Oxford would be the most obvious choice but I'm not sure if it will benefit me."

Sherlock let out a small laugh "of course you'd talk about that with Mycroft. You will go to Oxford, it will benefit you more than you think."

Juliet blinked hard, the command burning inside her mind, she snapped "because it did you so much good, if I remember correctly that was where you got hooked on drugs."

John and Greg leaned back slightly, John letting out a sharp breath. Sherlock pursed his lips "That was nothing to do with the school itself, that was about seeing clearly."

"What if I can't see clearly? What if I need the help?" she questioned.

"Doubtful" he breathed as if bored of the conversation "you have an average mind…."

She interjected angrily "and don't I know it. That's all you care I've ever heard from you 'average mind' you have no idea how that makes people feel. If I didn't have enough to live up to with a genius for and ex-army hero for parents, I have an uncle that works in the British government, practically runs the British government according to you, and his partner is a Detective Inspector for Scotland Yard. For Fuck Sake Sherlock you think it's easy being your child, its fucking not." She stood up pushing her chair back and storming out of the room.

"well done" John muttered, Sherlock shot him a questioning look. John pushed his chair back, picking up the book she had left on the table "fix this" he said before leaving the room and going up stairs to Juliet's room.

"Go away" she screamed from the other side of the door before he had even finished climbing the stairs. He paused outside the door, before he could open it himself she had opened it and was stood in front of him. Her eyes watering slightly "I don't want to hear you defend him."

"I won't" he assured her, handing her the book. She took it and looked at him with thanks.

"Please just leave me alone, I need to think" she managed.

John nodded "I'm downstairs if you want me" he turned, climbing down the stairs as she closed the door. The sound of her turning on her music loudly clear as he reached the bottom step.

He sighed loudly, bored of the constant arguing between the two of them. The fighting had become more frequent and worsened drastically over the past few months, he just hoped that Sherlock would be able to fix the tear between them before it was too late.


	4. Performance

**Performance**

Juliet took a deep breath, she was behind stage carefully blocking out the song currently being performed. She used her hand to smooth out the tight red jeans, the cropped black top sat above the waist band. Her black ruffled socks and heeled boots feet were, the black chain around her neck heavy, her hair down except for the braid across her forehead.

She had successfully avoided talking to Sherlock since last night, leaving early for school under the claim that she had a rehearsal. She knew that putting it off wasn't the best move but she would be able to talk to him after the concert, when they got home.

"You have nothing to worry about" Leo hummed from behind her, his guitar was hung across his body hiding his blacks jeans and blue shirt. "This is going to rock"

She nodded in agreement "I've never really performed for my family before, I mean they've heard me from my room but nothing like this."

Leo smiled "well I'm sure they'll love it no matter what" he gestured towards the stage, the band that had been performing were exiting.

"Break a leg" the muttered in unison before walking on stage, Juliet thought herself lucky that the lights in the school hall were bright, it obscured her view of the audience meaning that she couldn't see their faces properly. Her nerves dissolved as she took centre stage, her fingers clinging to the black microphone as she pulled it up slightly to the correct height.

The corners of her mouths turned up into a smile as the melody started, with her hand still firmly gripping the microphone she lent in and started singing.

_"Oh o-hh. Ever wonder about what he's doing? How it all turned to lies? Sometimes I think that it's bet-ter to never ask why"  
_The melody played out again, Juliet released the microphone and putting her hands to her closed her eyes and sung the chorus _"Where there is desire, There is gonna be a flame. Where there is a flame, Someone's bound to get burned, But just because it burns. Doesn't mean you're gonna die  
You've gotta get up and try, and try, and try, Gotta get up and try, and try, and try. You gotta get up and try, and try, and try"  
_She opened her eyes, returned her hand to the microphone_ "Eh, eh, eh" _She pulled the microphone from the stand and stepped forward slightly, moving as she sung _"Funny how the heart can be deceiving, More than just a couple times. Why do we fall in love so easy? Even when it's not right"_

She stopped on the spot she was on, holding the mic to her lips with her right hand, streaching out her left arm in an open gesture _"Where there is desire, There is gonna be a flame. Where there is a flame,  
Someone's bound to get burned, But just because it burns, Doesn't mean you're gonna die. You've gotta get up and try, and try, and try, Gotta get up and try, and try, and try. You gotta get up and try, and try, and try" _

She crossed the stage_ "Ever worry that it might be ruined, And does it make you wanna cry? When you're out there doing what you're doing, Are you just getting by? Tell me are you just getting by, by, by?" _She bent over slightly, the bridge and chorus running straight into each other "_Where there is desire, There is gonna be a flame. Where there is a flame, Someone's bound to get burned. But just because it burns, Doesn't mean you're gonna die. You've gotta get up and try, and try, and try. Gotta get up and try, and try, and try. You gotta get up and try, and try, and try. Gotta get up and try, and try, and try. Gotta get up and try, and try, and try. You gotta get up and try, and try, and try. Gotta get up and try, and try, and try. _

The next part she sung softer allowing the words to fade out slightly. _"You gotta get up and try, and try, and try. Gotta get up and try, and try, and try." _The music similarly faded out, leaving the room in silence before the audience broke out in cheers.

Juliet placed the microphone back in the stand, gave a small bow to the audience before moving further back to the stage. Leo was still in position, guitar strapped over his shoulder, beads of sweat clear under his fringe. She smiled at him, pulling him into a hug "that was great" she said, when she pulled away she was aware that she hadn't hugged him before. She nodded before walking away, slightly embarrassed, before he could say anything, she had walked down the stage stairs into the audience.

Juliet began weaving her way through the audience, searching for her guests, she hadn't been able to see them when they were performing but assumed they would be in the middle somewhere. She caught sight of John's blonde hair and scruffy brown jacket, smiling she made her way towards them.

A hand on her shoulder made her stop, she turned to face the owner. He was an attractive man, late teens/early twenties with brown hair pushed out of his face and green/blue eyes. He was wearing a simple black shirt, jeans and a leather jacket. The smile on his face was warm and reassuring.

"That was amazing" he said in greeting, taking his hand off her shoulder and returning it to his side. He registered the confusion on her face and clarified "your performance, it was amazing. Yours voice is beautiful."

Juliet could feel herself blushing, she ducked her head slightly "thanks" she responded weakly.

He extended his hand to her "James, James Marshal, I used to go here a few years back."

She took his hand and shook it politely, she spoke louder "Juliet Holmes-Watson" he smiled at the sound of her voice, she continued with a grin on her face "I'm in my last year" she offered, giving him a clue to her age.

Slowly he released her hand, smiling at her as he did so. "I was wondering...I though that you might" he started, his words faltering. They both laughed, he continued through his laughter "Wait, I can get this right" he cleared his throat before asking again "My friends having this party on Saturday, I hear he has invited some of the guys from your year, well most of them actually, he has a brother in your year or something. I was wondering if you might like to come" he asked.

She smiled "to the party?" she asked in clarification.

"With me" he added, the party now becoming a means for the two to go on a date.

"I'd love to" she replied quickly "I will have to confirm that with my parents though."

He ducked his head slightly "Of course" he pulled out a business card with his name, number and email address on. He offered it to her, she accepted it. "Let me know"

She nodded "Sure" she looked over to where she had seen John, he was now stood in the isle waiting for her with a smug grin on his face. She ducked her head slightly "I have to go."

"Yeah" he answered, his eyes fixed firmly on hers. He jerked slightly, looking down "Yeah, me too. Goodbye Juliet Holmes-Watson" he breathed, she smiled and turned to face John.

"Who was that?" John asked as he approached.

She attempted to suppress the smile on her face "just a guy" she caught sight of Mycroft and Greg exiting their seats and walking towards them. "Later" she offered, he nodded in acceptance.

Before he could congratulate her on the performance she continued in a slightly annoyed tone "where's dad?"

Johns face dropped slightly "he was meant to meet us here" he sighed "I talked to him earlier to remind him."

Juliet's lips were pursed, it was obvious that she was torn between being angry and upset, the absence of Sherlock weighing down on them all. Over the past few months, his absence had become greater in her life. "Right" she murmured in surrender, there was nothing she could do to change it now. It hurt that he wasn't there and it made her angry but she was mainly hurt at her father's absence.  
She turned her attention to her uncle and Greg "thanks for coming" she beamed, the words meaning more than they did now that Sherlock wasn't here.

"No problem" Greg said quickly "that was great, did you write that yourself?"

She nodded, proud of her own work now that someone had heard it performed. "Yes, it came to me in a dream of sorts, didn't take long to finish and the others picked it up really quickly."

Mycroft's mouth turned into a small smile "a fine composition" she smiled at the compliment, knowing that fine was being used like 'the finer things in life' and not as a fine that meant it was bad.

Juliet realised that she was still holding the business card that James had given her, she quickly pushed it into her jeans pocket. "Shall we?" she nodded towards the door behind them, they all turned and started walking towards the door. She followed them, enjoying the small silence. She grabbed her leather jacket off the hook at the back of the hall before slipping out of the doors behind her family.

The wind hit her like a ton of bricks as she exited the school, she zipped up her jacket, pulling the collar up around her neck to protect her from the cold wind.

"I have a car waiting" Mycroft mentioned, using his arm to point out the blacked out car "To Baker Street?" he asked John.

John shook his head "thanks for the offer but were going to get something to eat, we'll walk home." He left out 'to talk about things before returning to Baker street' but it was implied.

Mycroft understood, instead he hooked his arm around Greg's waist "just us then" he observed, he looked at Juliet "thank you for inviting us, it has been a truly inspiring evening." And with that they walked off, Greg mumbling a goodbye before allowing Mycroft to lead him towards the car.

John offered his arm, Juliet accepted it, linking her own arm as they began their walk. "What do you want to eat?" he asked, obviously wanting to ease into a more serious conversation.

"Chips?" she suggested, knowing that John wouldn't be able to refuse. "There's a chip shop fifteen minutes away on the route home" she continued, knowing what every house, shop and street looked like on the journey back home. She took the journey twice every week day.

"Sound great" John responded, he then asked "how long will it take us to get back to the flat?"

She smiled, the route mapped out in her head. "forty-five minutes, give or take a minute." She sighed, looking around as they walked, not wanting to look at him directly "James Marshal, that's him names, the boy from earlier. He used to go to my school, he complimented me on the performance and asked me to a party on Saturday."

"And you want to go?" he asked.

"Yes" she nodded and she responded "I told him that I would ask first."

John pursed his lips slightly, the corners of his mouth soon turned up into a smile. "Your seventeen, I'm not going to stop you from going to a party with your friends. I know you'll be careful and call me if there's any problems, I assume that you'll be going with this boy, James." She nodded and he continued "that's fine, I'll tell Sherlock" he added, knowing that the consulting detective may be slightly over protective when it comes to someone suitable to date his daughter. He had once head butted a mail man for looking at her in an 'inappropriate' way. The court case had been avoided with the claim of sexual harassment and Mycroft's involvement.

"Thank you" she squeezed his arm against hers slightly, hugging his arm. He laughed at the gesture.

Juliet waited outside the chip shop while John got their dinner, she pulled the phone out of her jacket pocket and the business card out of her jeans pocket. She added him as a contact and typed out a quick message.

**The address is 221B Baker Street, if you still want me to come with you to that party. Juliet Holmes.**

Within seconds the phone in her hands buzzed with a reply.

**Well I haven't changed my mind within the space of twenty minutes. I'll pick you up at eight. x**

She smiled at the text before responding, she hesitated before adding a kiss.

**Good and I'll be ready x**

She slipped the phone back into her pocket as John walked out the shop, with two portions of chips wrapped up in a paper cone in his hands. He passed one to her, the chips already salty and covered in mayonnaise, just like she liked them. They continued walking, eating as they went, exchanging small comment but avoiding talking about the incident with Sherlock, that had only gotten worse over the course of twenty four hours.

John spoke first about it when they were a few streets away from Baker Street "you will have to talk to him eventually" She sighed at the comment, knowing he was right, she would have to talk to him eventually but that didn't mean it had to be tonight.

"I know" she said simply in response.

When they walked into their flat, they were surprised to find Sherlock lying on the sofa, facing the ceiling with a nicotine patch secured on his arm. Juliet took hers and Johns rubbish and threw it in the bin. She could hear from the kitchen Sherlock ask "Where have you been?"

Which resulted is John hissing "at our daughter's school concert, the exact place that you were meant to be"

She stepped back into the longue, the conversation halting immediately, she opened her mouth to speak when the phone in the pocket started vibrating. She pulled it out of her pocket, smiled at the name 'James Marshall' on the screen and put the phone to her ear.

"Phone calls already, anyone would think this is getting serious" she greeted mockingly.

James laughed down the phone before responding "I just thought that you might want to get to know me before we meet on Saturday, I'd like to get to know you better and for all you know I'm a serial killer." He joked.

She smiled, aware of her parents gaze, she looked down and sat down in one of the armchairs. "Well I doubt that you are a serial killer otherwise I wouldn't have agreed to go out with you, would I?"

He laughed again "well you have a point, I was just being over dramatic, and really I just wanted to get to know you better."

The comment made her grin, she lowered her tone slightly "well what do you want to know?"

"Middle name?" was the only response she got.

"Anna, yours?"

"Connor, favourite colour?"

"I don't have a favourite colour" she replied weakly.

He sounded surprised "everyone has a favourite colour."

"Not me, what's yours?" she changed the subject.

"Red" she could sense his smile even over the phone "What are your parents like?"

She hesitated slightly before answering, fully aware that they were listening to every word. "The bravest men I've ever met" she settled on "yours?"

"My dad's a criminal mastermind" he joked, gaining a laugh from her "mums not around anymore."

"Mine either" she admitted, she wanted to change the subject onto something more cheery "What do you do for work?"

"Take after my old man" he joked. "Seriously though, Saturday should be fun."

She joked "of course it is you asked me to be your date and I am a riot."

There was a small laugh from James before he responded "too confident?" he asked mockingly.

She smiled "there's no such thing as too confident" she said simply "As lovely as this conversation has been James, I think if we continue there will be no mystery left for Saturday."

"Your right" he answered quickly "be ready by eight, goodbye" he hung up the phone. She smiled as the peeled the phone from her ear. Both her parent's eyes were on her, Sherlock wide in surprise.

"John will explain" she gestured, taking him up on his offer to tell Sherlock from when they were walking home. She jumped up from her seat and moved towards the stairs, smiling the whole way.

* * *

**The song i have chosen in this chapter is 'Try' by P!nk, a truly amazing song. i think that it important that you listen to it, if you do not already know it, just to get an idea of how it would sound and make it easier to visualize.**


	5. Forgotten

**Forgotten**

Juliet sighed loudly, it was now half three, and hour and twenty-five minutes after school had finished and Sherlock was supposed to meet her. She hadn't expected him to be on time, he would more than likely get caught up in a case of some sort. But leaving his daughter waiting outside her school for an hour and twenty-five minutes had not only angered her but angered her further – between him commands at dinner the other night, forgetting which lead to the lack of attendance to her first ever public performance and the lack of apology for everything. Juliet Holmes was angry.

She closed the copy of Dracula that she had been reading for the last few days with a lot of interruptions, pushing it inside her bag gently, not wanting to fold any of the pages. She pushed herself off the wall and walked in the direction of Scotland Yard. If she chose the correct route she could make the station within half an hour. She pushed the sleeves of her blazer up and began walking, she had taken off her grey sweater vest and folded it in her bag, not wanting to look any more like a snobby school girl than she had to.

Twenty two minutes and 57 seconds later she was at the front desk of Scotland Yard talking to the guard "Gregory Lestrade please, I'm his partner's daughter." She greeted the middle aged policeman.

He smiled at her. "Juliet, right?" he asked in a low husky tone, she nodded in confirmation. He stood up quickly and walked around the desk to the side she was standing on, he gestured towards the door "he talks about you all the time, loves you like you're his own. He also told me to let you in if you ever stopped by, if you'll follow me." She did so obediently, through one security locked door, down the hallway, up two floors in the lift, down another corridor and to the right where the room opened up in a variety of desks.

He stopped in front of a glass walled offices that had Greg's name on the door "thanks" she muttered as he walked away, back to the front desk no doubt. She let herself into the empty office, sat herself down on the sofa and thought for a minute. Sherlock would have to be on a case to have forgotten about her again, which meant that they would have to return to the yard at some point, going on the fact that she had been abandoned for the past hour and forty-seven minutes, the case would have to bring them back to the yard soon.

Juliet picked the iPod out of her pocket, putting the earphones in and turned on a classical piece, allowing it to stimulate her mind. Within three minutes she was bored and in need of a drink, she left the small office and walked into the room that was scattered with people. She spotted the coffee machine in the corner and went to it, the caffeine would be a welcome treat. The coffee had just finished pouring into a mug when she turned to face a young looking Detective Inspector with sharp features and brown hair. She pulled out the earphones, letting them hang down from her pocket.

"I'm guessing that you're not our new team member" he joked, he passed her the pot of sugar sachets.

"Thanks" she mumbled, taking five sachets and pouring them into her black coffee.

"Dimmock, Craig Dimmock" he introduced himself with a smile as he poured himself a coffee.

"Juliet Holmes-Watson" she responded. The detective inspector almost dropped his coffee at the name, she smiled "you know my parents" she observed.

"Are you used to reactions like that?" he asked, mopping up the little coffee he had spilt with a paper napkin.

"Anyone who has spent more than five minutes with my dad" she paused then clarified "Sherlock, has the desire to kill him, partly because he is an arrogant sod but mostly because his observations are right and not everybody likes that."

He smiled "he's a great man – a bloody genius"

She nodded in agreement "and an arrogant sod?" she asked jokingly.

Dimmock laughed "yeah and that too" she laughed in response, he straightened himself up slightly "John Watson is a good man though"

She nodded in agreement again "he is a war hero with more courage and bravery than a room full of people, he would do anything to protect the people he loves. It helps being raised by him I guess, it kinda balances out the being raised by Sherlock." She smiled at him.

"What about your mother?" he asked rather boldly, she admired him for asking. The situation was quite peculiar, two dads, most people did wonder how that worked.

"Died shortly after giving birth to me." She said in a monotone.

"I'm sorry" she raised an eyebrow at the man.

"You have no reason to be sorry Craig, I didn't know her, I don't miss her." She replied honestly.

He nodded before asking "What are you doing here then?"

She inhaled sharply "I am to find my dad, I know he isn't here now but considering he was supposed to meet me almost two hours ago, the logical assumption is that he is on a case, so he will be here shortly. I'm here to shout at him, cause a scene and embarrass him, everything a daughter is meant to do." She winked at him, he laughed as she walked back to Lestrade's office.

The sound of Lestrade's annoyed voice reached her "what the bloody hell did you think you were doing Sherlock? You cannot just run off after the suspects like that" Juliet stood up and moved to the door, she leant against the doorway as Greg, Sherlock, Anderson and Donovan approached. "You have your family to think about." The detective hissed at him.

Juliet let out a small laugh. "Not that you often think about us though is it?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as the four sets of eyes settled on her. Sherlock looked confused, she took a step closer and explained "firstly, you order me to go to university without even considering the other variables. Second, you forget about my first ever performance in a school concert. Thirdly, you leave me waiting outside my school for an hour and twenty-five minutes, I then make the twenty-two minute and fifty seven second walk here, because there was no way that you'd be at home if you'd already forgotten me. And of course now I am waiting on an apology for all three."

Sherlock sighed, grumbling in annoyance "this is not the time or the place, go home."

Juliet's mouth dropped in surprise. "Not the time or place" she hissed "what because you hate public displays emotions, or is that you hate people knowing what a shit dad you are." Sherlock began and she silenced him with a wave of her hand "You Sherlock Holmes are a self-centred, arrogant man who only ever thinks of his self, not matter the consequences. You don't care about me, I don't think you ever did."

"What is it that you want from me?" he asked, opening his arms wide dramatically. Donovan and Anderson swayed awkwardly behind him while Greg ran a hand through his grey hair.

"I want you to care about me, to love me but I guess that is too much to ask from a self-diagnosed sociopath." She snapped, she walked into Greg's office collecting her back and blazer, she stormed past them. She called back "From now on I don't want you to worry about me, don't even think about me because as far as I'm concerned you're not my dad, so why should I act like your daughter?"

With that she left, leaving them to think on what she said as she stormed from the building.

_Fucking Sherlock, Fucking Holmes, arrogant prick! He doesn't give a shit about anything except his fucking job. _Her mind screamed at her.

Juliet stormed through London, her anger clear in the way she was walking, fast with heavy steps. Her face is un-wielding.

That's when it started to rain, not only rain but rain buckets. The white shirt and skirt were soaked through, sticking to her skin. The blazer in her hand soaked also, luckily enough she had transferred her iPod and Phone into her school bag which was brown Italian leather, very expensive and most definitely waterproof.

Juliet opened the door to 221 roughly, pulling the keys out and shoving them back in her bag. She climbed up the stairs, her body beginning to realise how cold it had become from the rain. She was shaking, quite violently but the time she reached the door, which was already open, she pushed at it violently and steps inside the flat. The door smashes against the wall creating a loud booming sound before rebounding and hitting the doorframe, successfully closing.

"Juliet?" John's voice calls questioningly from the longue.

"uh-huh" she manages through her chattering teeth and frozen lips.

"Where's Sherlock?" he asked as she stepped into the longue, dropping her bag and blazer onto the floor. Juliet brought her arms across her chest, hugging herself to warm up. John folded the paper in his hand and turned to look at her, his face instantly dropping at the sight of her. "What the hell? Where's your dad?"

He jumped from his seat, grabbing the blanket off the sofa and throwing it over her shoulders. "he…he forgot-tt…at scot-ttland yard…tol..told-d…him…" she managed between shivers.

"You need to get out of those clothes" he suggested, his hand clasping the blanket over her body. She struggled to undo and peel the clothes off her body, letting her clothes fall to the floor until she was completely naked under the blanket. "You need to get warm, Christ how long were you in the rain?" He lead her towards the bathroom, she followed obediently. He bent over the bath tub turning on the tap, the hot water filling the tub with steamy water.

"I walk-ed from the y-yard…ap-pp-pprox-ximatley an hour…too-k a lonn-ger r-oute" she managed in explanation.

"Christ" John muttered "get into the bath to warm yourself up, I'll be back in a few minutes."

She nodded, pushing the bottom of the blanket out of the way with her feet before stepping into hot bath. The door closed behind her, signalling John's exit and she let the blanket drop to the floor. Juliet submerged her body in the warm water, allowing the heat to wash over her.

After five minutes the bath was almost full of water, she turned off the taps and leaned back slightly. A knock on the door alerted her to John's return; she shifted slightly, bringing her knees to her chest so John didn't have to look at her completely naked. "Come in" she mumbled, she used her hand to push the hair out of her face.

"Feeling better?" he asked as he pushed the door open, she nodded in response. He pushed the toilet seat down and sat, his eyes on her eyes. "What happened?"

She sniffled slightly. "He forgot about me, I was waiting for an hour and twenty five minutes, I knew he'd be on his case, so I went to Scotland Yard. He came, completely unaware that he was supposed to be meeting me." She sighed and admitted "I got angry."

"You said hurtful things? Made a show in front of Greg?" he asked, knowing her far too well. She nodded in admittance. "What did you say?"

She blinked hard before answering in a mono-tone. "I played on the fact he doesn't like public displays, bringing up his last three mistakes, the conversation at dinner, his lack of attendance to my school concert and how he had forgot about meeting me today. I told him that he didn't like public displays of emotion because he didn't like people knowing he was a shit dad. I told him that he is self-centred and arrogant. I said that he didn't care about me, never did." She paused, taking a breath, then continued "He asked what I wanted from him and I said that I wanted him to care and to love me but I knew it wouldn't happen because he is a self-diagnosed sociopath. I told him that he shouldn't worry or think about me because as far as I'm concerned he wasn't my dad and that meant I wasn't his daughter." John took in a sharp breath, adverting his gaze for a moment. She continued "I didn't mean it I was just angry and he's hasn't exactly been there recently, if anything for the last few months he's been avoiding spending time with me, talking to me."

"That's not true" John defended, she breathed heavily.

"Well recently he hasn't exactly been father of the year and I don't know what I can do about it" she admitted, slightly more forceful than she had intended. She composed herself and spoke gentler "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it."

"I know" he said in understanding, he stood up. "you need to get some rest, we don't want you to get ill before your party tomorrow." This made her smile, he stood up and walked out the bathroom.

When the door closed she pulled the plug out of the bath and stood up, letting the water run off her body. Her hair was wet and clinging to her back but not clean, she would wash it tomorrow before the party. She wrapped a large white towel around her body and made her way upstairs, leaving her phone and iPod in her school bag. She didn't bother getting dressed, instead she just curled up in the towel, covering herself with the duvet and throw. She closed her eyes, welcoming sleep.

* * *

**For those who may be finding this slightly confusing it will be getting good soon. i am going to do a prequel to this story - explaining the relationship between John and Sherlock further (as well as Greg and Mycroft) this story will focus on their first meeting their daughter Juliet and have interspersed memories from her childhood as she is growing up. **


	6. Motorbikes

**Motorbikes**

Juliet woke up suddenly, her body too hot, way too hot to sleep any further. She pushed violently at the covers before opening her eyes. She could see that it was still dark through the window, she hadn't even considered closing the curtains when she went to bed. Her hair was stuck to her back and the towel she had been wearing had slipped down. She pushed herself up, grabbing the towel, the clock on the bedside table reading 5:01.

In an hour and a bit it would be time for work at the café, instead of going back to sleep she stood up, tying the towel back around her body. Juliet left the room, holding the towel up as she walked quietly down the stairs, she didn't want to wake anyone up because they wouldn't appreciate that. She headed to the bathroom, locking the door behind her. She flicked the shower on, threw the towel into the hamper and stepped into the hot water. After five minutes she emerged, all clean and dripping wet. Instead of picking a towel she slipped on the silk dressing gown that was kept in the bathroom, the bright green silk instantly clinging to her body. She used a small towel to contain her hair on her head and focused on brushing her teeth before unlocking the bathroom door and moving towards the kitchen for some food.

She hummed to herself as she explored the fridge, settling on some peach ice tea and a handful of grapes. She sat herself down at the kitchen table, avoiding the various test tubes on the surface that were filled with brown and green substances. Juliet propped a grape into her mouth, she looked around the kitchen, everything seemed in order. She finished the grapes quickly then moved onto the ice tea.

A sound from the longue startled her, she picked up an empty glass vial before looking. Sherlock was sat at the desk on John's laptop, he turned at her entrance with a sad look on his face.

"Jesus" she exclaimed moving the glass vial to her side. "You scared me."

"Obviously" he answered sarcastically "and the glass vial was the obvious weapon of choice."

She sighed "well it would hurt if I hit you with it over the head, disorientate you then I would have kneed you in the groin and gone to get help. The plan was sound." He gave a small smile of acknowledgement, the plan after all did seem rather strange. "Shouldn't you be sleeping?" she changed the subject, both of them avoiding the main point of argument between them.

"Probably, shouldn't you?" she returned.

"Yes but sleep escapes me" he answered honestly.

"I was too hot, swaddled myself after walking home in the rain for an hour, wanted to avoid unnecessary illness" she said partly because it was truth and partly because she wanted to make him feel guilty if she could. "Plus, I have a date tonight and wouldn't want to miss that."

Sherlock's eyes cut into her slight at the word 'date', she knew John had talked to him about the date and party but she couldn't be sure about what he had said exactly. "We wouldn't want that now would we?" he said sarcastically, obviously wishing that she didn't have a date at all.

"No" she answered quickly, she strolled out of the room to go get ready for work.

Juliet towel dried her hair as much as possible before brushing until smooth, waiting for the hair to form into its natural curls. She slipped into some plain underwear followed by black skinny jeans and her work top, the apron was in her locker at work. She put on some dark red socks with frills on that would math her apron and smiled. She wouldn't need to bother with make-up, knowing that she would be putting some one later, she opted for a coat of black mascara to accentuate her long lashes. She hung the towel on the back of her door and gathered the towel she had used for her hair. She then grabbed a brown leather satchel, which had her purse in it.

She moved back downstairs, putting the towel in the hamper in the bathroom. The grabbed her phone and iPod from where they were charging in the longue, John must have done that for her while she was sleeping knowing how much she dislikes not having them. She left the chargers in the sockets, too lazy to move them, grabbed the keys out of her school bag and put them in her satchel.

Stealing a glance at Sherlock, whose eyes were locked on the computer screen "I'm going then" she stated.

"Where?" he asked, eyes still on the screen.

"To work" she answered simply.

"It's quarter to six" the consulting detective stated, his gaze moving to her. She lingered for a moment.

"I'm taking a longer route to clear my head" she said in explanation, it was true, she did need time to think about things. She moved out of the doorway, pulling on some black ankle boots and her long black coat. "see ya later" she called back before heading downstairs.

The cold air hit her hard, she frowned. By the time she reached work the café had just opened, she fastened her apron on and headed to the counter to help.

She worked seven hours her shift ended, it was half one. She grabbed a chicken sandwich, a white chocolate and raspberry muffin, hot tea, paid and left. She ate on a bench, enjoying the sensation of watching the world go around. Instead of heading straight home, she headed into the heart of London to do some shopping.

The first stop was Harrods, the clothing was decent and beautiful. The only downside was the crowds of tourists that visited the shop. Juliet pushed her was through them, not stopping until she reached the woman's department. The woman behind the glass counter eyed her up curiously, probably assuming that she was another time waster with not enough money.

"Excuse me" the woman had moved from behind the counter and was stood behind her. Juliet turned to face her, the white blonde hair pulled into a tight bun. She was wearing a simple skirt suit, the long skirt a deep green with matching short sleeved blazer and a white blouse. "Can I help you?" she asked, looking down her nose at her.

"I actually need to speak with Marie" she said simply with a smile on his face.

The blonde woman smiled at her in a mocking way "Marie is busy with appointments all day, unless you have one I don't think it will be possible."

"Could you call her for me, if you tell her that it's me…"

The blonde cut her up by raising her finger rudely and speaking with a tone of annoyance "It is not possible. Will you please leave now or I will call security."

Juliet let a smile spread across her lips as she spoke "Listen here, I don't know who you think you are but my family happens to be one of the most respected clients here. Normally I'm used to dealing with more knowledgeable and less rude staff but I suppose you will have to do, so Marie if you please."

The blondes lips tightened as she replied rather over aggressively "excuse me you little brat…"

"Holmes" she interjected "The name is Juliet Holmes" She smiled, the name having the desired effect of shutting up the blonde haired assistant.

"Miss Holmes" she flustered, avoiding looking at her. "this way" she gestured towards the gold and mirrored dressing rooms.

Marie was stood in front of a rack of clothes that were waiting to be tailored to fit. Her grey hair was curled today and tied into a pony tail. The half crescent glasses perched on the end of her names, the below the knee dress a deep blue. The gold broach with white diamonds that Mycroft had given her for Christmas placed firmly on the right shoulder. Her mouth turned into a large smile at the sight of Juliet.

"Juliet" she said quickly, embracing the dark haired girl. "I hadn't expected you, if I had I would have gotten out the fabric samples."

"no need for fuss" she replied, pursing her lips "I was just wondering if you had that green dress from the last time I was here."

"The one that Sherlock disapproved of?" she asked with a faint trace of a smile.

Juliet nodded "I know that I didn't ask you to tailor it for me because I had no intention at the time of buying it but I have change my mind. I understand if it isn't specifically tailored to my size but I'm going to a party tonight with this guy and I think it would be perfect."

Marie grinned at the young Holmes "I've had it ready since that visit, I knew you'd come back and get it." She left the room for a moment and returned with a clothes back in her hand, shoe bow under her arm and a necklace box. "All to your size, I have picked out some quite flattering shoes and a necklace that will accentuate that long Holmes neck and sharp cheekbones."

She smiled at the woman, opening the bag for a glance at the emerald green dress. She smiled then peaked at the shoes, they were black stilettoes with green heels and undersides, the colour matching the dress precisely. The necklace was silver necklace with a small emerald hung down.

"Perfect" she whispered, she hugged Marie, taking the items from her and moving them towards the counter.

"Shall I put that on the account?" she asked innocently.

"No" she said sternly "I'll pay for this myself" she answered proudly, her family provided a lot of things but they didn't have to pay for her party outfit, she could already tell that these items would be pricey enough.

The phone in her bag started playing a familiar tune of Lady GaGa's 'Poker face' she mumbled an apology and pulled the phone out to her ear.

"Hello" she greeted.

"Juliet, shopping in Harrods?" Mycroft's voice echoed through the phone.

"You ask that like you don't already know" she replied playfully "what do you want?"

"Put it on the family account" he said simply.

"I have the money to pay for this Mycroft, I don't have to rely on you guys for everything."

"I insist" was the only reply she got.

"No" she said childishly.

"It is not often that you allow clothes to be tailored for you at establishment of such high standards. I understand that you are independent and relish every opportunity to show it but I hardly think an argument is necessary after your show with my brother yesterday. Please allow me to cover the expenses for this."

She sighed loudly in defeat "Fine, you win. I'll allow you to pay this time but next time please let me buy myself some clothes."

She could tell that Mycroft was smiling as he replied "Thank you. Feel free to purchase some more items or as I believe it is said go wild"

She laughed in response "Thank you Mycroft" she said before hanging up the phone. She turned back to the happy looking Marie. "Change of plan, it will be covered on Mycroft's account. Would you be able to show me some more items?"

Marie nodded in delight, leaving the items on the counter with strict instructions for them not be moved while she ushered Juliet towards a rail of clothing behind a curtain. "All of these items are tailored to your exact size from the last time you were here, you look like you are exactly the same weight."

Juliet nodded and looked at the clothes, item by item. She picked out - tight black dress with small sleeves and a v in the neckline, a strapless red dress with a longer back then front and gold embodied into the chest, two peplum tops – one in black, the other in a dark purple – six white tops with various designs, three cropped vests with various designs, five different pairs of leggings, three pairs of jeans, two plain above the knee skirts, two pairs of leather boots with two inch heels. One brown leather jacket, one blue leather jacket, a thicker leather jacket with wool on the collar and sleeves, five different underwear sets – all lace with a suspender belt and stockings in various colours.

Marie priced everything up, putting the cost on the account, boxing and bagging everything up before calling a car around to collect her. She texted Mycroft on the ride home

**Thank you. You're the best. X**

The reply was quick.

**My pleasure and I Know, enjoy yourself tonight.**

She smiled at the reply and headed into Baker Street, followed by the driver who placed all the items in the longue before exiting.

John was staring at her, his eyes occasionally moving to the bags on the floor. "Been shopping?" he asked mockingly.

Juliet pulled her coat off, throwing it over the sofa's arm and sighed. "I needed something for the party tonight, Marie provided me with a very beautiful dress, shoes and a necklace. I was paying when I received a call from Mycroft" the name caught Sherlock's attention, his head shot up, gaze moving from the computer screen. "he insisted that I allow him to pay and get whatever I need, perhaps I went overboard but he insisted that I 'go wild', so I did."

John smiled "That was nice of him." Juliet nodded in agreement.

"I suppose I should put this stuff away and start getting ready for tonight, want to look my best." She muttered picking up some of the bags and starting upstairs, John followed holding the remainder of the bags and boxes. He placed them on the bed, hovering above them.

"What have you got for tonight?" he asked.

She smiled, picking up the dress bag and opening it to reveal the green dress. She then produced the shoes and necklace. He smiled "you're going to look beautiful" he placed a kiss on her head before adding "This stuff must have set Mycroft back. He left, leaving her to put away the clothes and prepare for her party.

When she emerged from her room at 7:45 she was clad in a tight strapless emerald green dress that barely touched her mid-thigh. She had on the black and green heels, adding some extra height. The emerald pendent hung low, grazing her cleavage just above the start of the dress. Her black curls were loose around her pale face, tumbling in rows down her back. Like usual she had neglected a parting instead opting to push the hair back whenever it annoyed her. She had a light bronze line across her cheeks, emphasising her sharp cheekbones further, nude lipstick with a shiny gloss. Her eyes were dusted with black shimmery powder and a dark line of eyeliner that flicked out at the edges of her eyes. Her long lashes coated with mascara. She smiled as she came downstairs, a small black clutch in her hands that contained her phone, keys, lipstick and a lighter.

John's face twisted into a smile as she walked into the longue "you look beautiful" he commented. She smiled at the compliment, moving over to the window so she could see when James arrived. "Sherlock" John called to the kitchen where Sherlock was sat doing some sort of experiment. "Juliet's ready"

Sherlock came into the longue, goggles still on as he stared at his daughter in horror. "She is not going out like that" he exclaimed, his eyes moving from John to her as she frowned. "I specifically remember telling you that you couldn't have that dress last time we were at Harrods" he added, making John laugh.

She smiled at him, honestly too happy to let him damper her mood. "Yes you did but then I realised I'm seventeen and I wanted this dress."

Sherlock rolled his eyes, ready to argue when John gave him a 'shut up' look. He did so obediently as he sat down on the arm of John's chair. "Fine" he scoffed "There are a few things though."

"Fine" Juliet said, her attention on the road outside.

Sherlock began "Be safe and sensible, no drugs"

John picked up where Sherlock left off "If you're going to drink just be careful and call us if there is any problems, anything at all." He then added quickly "no curfew" Sherlock glared at him.

"Ok" she responded, the sound of a motorbike catching her attention. She grinned as the bike pulled up outside, jumping off the windowsill.

"See ya later my rides here" she said quickly as she walked out of the room, putting on her leather jacket and exiting the flat.

Sherlock moved to the window, his eyes wide at the sight of his daughter climbing onto a motorbike with her arms around a guy. He was not happy, not one bit. John laughed at him, asking "tea?" but Sherlock didn't hear him he was too busy thinking.


	7. Party

**Party**

Juliet clung to James as he weaved through the London traffic, her helmet covered head against his back and arms around his waist. They had exchanged a quick greeting when she had come out of Baker street. Within fifteen minutes they were outside an ordinary looking house, the music and lights blaring, the garden filled with people. She dismounted the bike first and took the helmet off, shaking her head and pushing the curls away from her face. James took his helmet off before grabbing hers and resting them on the bike. He smiled at Juliet, his eyes wide. "You look amazing" he said quickly, she glanced down at the outfit, even happier then when she had put it on.

"Thanks" she replied, sure that she was blushing.

"Shall we?" he asked, gesturing towards the house. She nodded in response and he lead her through the garden and open door of the house. He stopped in the hallway, taking off his jacket and grabbing hers once she had taken it off, he put them both on the stairs. She placed her bag there too before following him into the kitchen.

"Victor" he greeted the dark haired man in the middle of the kitchen who was addressing a crowd of men, all of whom were holding beer.

He turned, smiling "James" he embraced him and pulled back, his eyes quickly settling on Juliet. "glad you could make it."

James smiled his eyes on Juliet as he spoke to Victor "This is Juliet" he introduced them, they shook hands quickly.

Victor had a smug look on his face as he lead them towards the fridge "help yourself" he gestured towards the vast amount of bottles. James grabbed a coke, wanting to keep his head clear because he was driving them. She grabbed a bottle of beer; James took off the cap for her allowing her to drink the taste slightly bitter in her mouth.

She was soon pulled into a conversation between James and Sebastian, not following the plot of the conversation much but instead observing James. She couldn't help but notice how good he looked tonight wearing a short sleeved blue shirt and dark jeans. His hair loose, falling over his forward in a diagonal way, his eyes glistening slightly as he spoke.

Throughout the conversation between James and Sebastian she was pulled away by a blonde haired girl who 'loved her dress' and thought she was 'absolutely beautiful'.

"How do you know James then?" Natalie, the blonde haired girl asked as they sat down at a round wooden table. The girl was wearing a long black pencil skirt and a blue crop top with a gold chair. Her blonde hair was down, stretching to her shoulders.

"He approached me after a school thing, asked me to come with him." She smiled at the girl, accepting the glass of transparent liquid from her. "No biggie" she added.

Natalie laughed, putting her hand on Juliet's shoulder "No biggie?" she swigged from the bottle of vodka that she had just poured into Juliet's glass. "I've known James for about two years, in that time I've seen girls practically throwing themselves at him and he doesn't even give them a second glance. But he's different with you." They both turned to look at him, his eyes were firmly on Juliet his mouth moving as he talked to Sebastian.

Juliet blushed and turned back to face Natalie. "Different how?" she asked curiously, sipping at the vodka, the liquid burning her throat.

Natalie's face lit up, she sat herself down on the stool next to her. She lowered her voice down slightly into a loud sort of whisper. "He can't take his eyes off of you, it's like you're the only one in the room or something. You told me that he approached you, but I've been out with him clubbing before and he never approaches girls even if he likes them." Juliet raised an eyebrow at her. Natalie let out a chuckle and continued "it's true, he may seem like a bad boy with leathers and a motorbike but he is a nice guy, he respects girls, he respects you. I can see it otherwise he would be all over you by now."

"I thought you said he was a nice guy" Juliet joked, they both chuckled.

"He is but he is still a man." She stated, sending them both into laughter once more.

The conversation practically died out after and was replaced by small talk about school, work, hobbies and a lot of drinking. After finishing the glass of vodka, the girls did a row of various coloured shots.

A hand on her shoulder startled her almost causing her to drop the drink she was holding at the time. She looked up to see James standing above her, he gestured towards the back garden. "Want some air?"

Juliet found herself lost for words, instead she nodded, placing the drink on the table and stood up to follow him to the garden. The cold air wrapped its way around her body, she shivered, Goosebumps spreading over her skin. The garden was simple, a green lawn with fences around each side, a small patio that back off the house and a little shed in the corner. James lent against the wall, pulling out a silver case from his pocket. He picked a cigarette and lighter out of the case before slipping the case back into his jeans pocket. She watched as he lit the fag, the tip burning amber as he inhaled, he pushed the lighter back into his pocket and focused back on Juliet. "I'm sorry" he muttered, taking the cigarette between his fingers and blowing smoke out of his mouth.

"For what?" she asked, moving to lean on the wall next to him.

"I asked you here tonight and haven't said a word to you in over two hours" he explained, taking a long drag.

She smiled at him "It's ok, I'm having fun" she insisted. He raised an eyebrow questioningly before offering her the cigarette.

Juliet hesitated before accepting, taking the cigarette between her own fingers and inhaling the smoke. Unlike the smell of bitterness and stale cigarettes that she had smelt on Sherlock often, she was surprised at the tasteless smoke as it scratched at her throat. She returned the cigarette back to James as she blew out the smoke between slightly pursed lips. His eyes were fixed on her as he spoke "that was incredibly hot" he breathed. She gave him a questioning look and he explained "most girls don't look god smoking but somehow you pulled that off. I think that you would be able to pull anything off though, you look absolutely amazing tonight."

A grin appeared on her face along with a rather obvious blush, she replied calmly "you don't look too bad yourself" she smiled playfully.

"Not too bad?" he mimicked with an appalled expression, she turned so her right arm was pressed against the wall instead of her back to look at him. He copied this action so they were facing each other, their eyes locked and bodies a mere inch apart. "Not too bad?" he repeated, placing the cigarette between his lips while he used his hands to tickle her sides. The cigarette between his lips falling to the floor.

Juliet was giggling uncontrollably and managed between breaths "please…stop…stop…"

James laughed "What do I get out of it?" he asked, looking for a proposition.

Juliet was still giggling, breathing heavily at the same time as she struggled to speak "anything…" she managed.

He smiled, stopping the action but leaving his hands on either sides of her waist. Juliet breathed heavily as she regained the lost breath, she was smiling, her face hot against the cold air.

James brought his right hand up, brushing his thumb over her cheekbone softly. She smiled at the gesture as he lent forward, placing his lips against hers for a few seconds.

They pulled back slightly, their foreheads and noses touching. James broke the silence between them, his thumb still trailing across her cheek. "If you haven't already guessed, I really like you."

Juliet smiled, placing her lips on his in another chaste kiss. "Does that answer your question?"

He remained still but questioned her "what question is that?"

"If I recuperate said feelings" she said quickly, he smiled and nodded. "Good"

"Come on" he grabbed her hand, gesturing back towards the party, obediently she followed, smiling as she walked.


	8. Sunday

**Sunday**

Juliet groaned as she walked into the kitchen, her head pounding. After kissing James she had been ushered back into the party, the night swirled into a mixture of alcohol, dancing and kissing. James had driven her home, they spent forty-five minutes talking on the doorstep before actually saying goodbye. The moment she had stepped into Baker Street she was ushered upstairs by a fully awake Sherlock who then helped her into bed. She had woken up with large amounts of make-up smudged over her face, still in her green dress. She tied her hair up, wiped all traces of the make-up away, peeled the dress off her clammy body and put on her grey silk dressing gown that was on the back of the door. She was clad in her underwear, black hipsters and a strapless bra with only the dressing gown on for layers.

Sherlock and John were sat in their normal positions, John hunched over slightly eating his breakfast while Sherlock was sat straight, legs crossed slightly as he read the paper.

"Good night?" John asked with a smug grin on his face.

She nodded mildly, managing "coffee?"

John pushed a white mug towards her, she sat down in the seat next to him and gulped down the surgery black coffee. "Sherlock had been complaining…" he registered the glare from Sherlock as he folded the newspaper and corrected himself. "I mean telling me that you got home at three."

Sherlock rolled his eyes at John. "No, I said that she arrived back at 2:15 and didn't come inside till 3:00. She was sat outside with that boy."

"James" she interjected, both their eyes shot to her. She clarified "His name is James, you should probably try to remember it." She took another large gulp of coffee, the caffeine taking away the fuzziness in her head. "Were dating" she added.

"What?" Sherlock exclaimed, his brows crossing angrily.

"Dating, when someone is pursuing a romantic relationship with someone." She defined for him, picking a sweet roll off the plate in the middle of the table and biting into it.

"I know what dating is" he snapped in response, John put an arm on his shoulder to reassure him. "You're just far too young to be dating."

She rolled her eyes "I'm seventeen, eighteen in a few months." She argued, taking another bite of her sweet roll. Sherlock frowned, she swallowed the food and continued "plus in the eyes of the law I am legal, so I believe I have surpassed the age of dating."

"No, no please shut up" Sherlock snapped, burying his face in his hands "I do not want to have to think about my daughter engaging in sexual activities."

She laughed "and I don't want to see your sexual activities but we don't all get what we want." A blush swept across both of the men's faces, knowing that she had more than once found them in compromising positions in the longue, kitchen and once in the hall. "I'll go have a shower then we can go do whatever you've got planning for today" she said to John, he nodded and watched her leave, finishing the roll as she went into the bathroom.

After a shower and change of clothes into some floral leggings and a white top with a lipstick imprint, she pulled on a pair of brown leather slouchy boots and a matching brown leather jacket. Without knowing where her and John were going today, she decided to put her hair up out of the way, fastening it into a tight bun at the top of her head. Much to her happiness she found that she looked normal, the only signals of her late night and drinking were in the form of slightly darker circles under her eyes than usual.

John was waiting for her at the bottom of the stairs in a pair of jeans and a woolly jumper underneath his jacket. He lead her out of 221B, they took a cab until they reached their required destination, a firing range.

They spent a few hours firing various guns at a target, after John had taught her the basics she picked it up quickly. Already having some limited experience with firearms she was a natural by the end of the session and begging John as they came out of the facility back onto the cold street, in the direction of a coffee shop.

"Come on please, you know it's a good idea." John pursed his lips not wanting to answer. "If I had a licence and weapon you wouldn't have to be worried so much, I'd be able to protect myself."

"No" he said firmly, she gave a sulky face but assumed that would be his reaction.

"Fine, I'd guessed as much anyway but if something happens to me and I can't protect myself" she mocked, smiling at him. He opened the door to the Costa, she stepped in. "Did you want anything?" she asked.

"Tea" he responded as they walked over to the counter, they had already argued about the fact she was treating him today.

"One tea, hot chocolate and two raspberry white chocolate muffins to go" she ordered for them. She paid the woman and they shuffled along waiting for their order. When it was ready they grabbed their drinks and food before heading towards the door.

"Juliet" a voice said from in front of her, she looked up to see James grinning at her. "Hey"

"James" she managed, her gaze moving from John to James quite rapidly "Hi" she responded, hugging him quickly before returning back to her place besides John. "Dad this is James, James this is my dad, John."

"Hi, it's very nice to meet you sir" James greeted, shaking Johns hand with a smile plastered across his face.

"You to, Juliet has mentioned you once or twice." He smirked.

"Good… I mean that's good…nice" James said nervously, running his hand through his hair.

Juliet smiled and reached out to touch his arm, grabbing his wrist. "You don't have to be nervous around John, he's the nice one. Leave the nerves to when you meet Sherlock." John laughed. "Seriously it's all fine" she added in reassurance.

He managed a smile as he shifted his hand slightly so their fingers were locked. "I was wondering if you wanted to do something tomorrow, I could pick you up after school or whatever works best."

She smiled before bringing her lips to his cheek "Sounds great, I'll see you then." They walked out of the coffee shop and began making their way back to Baker street.

"He seems nice" John said as she handed him one of the muffins, he took it from her and bit into it.

"He really is, just nervous which I guess is understandable, I'd be nervous if it were me meeting his parents." She defended.

John nodded "I was so nervous when I met Sherlock's parents and we weren't even dating."

She almost spat out her mouthful of muffin. "I'm surprised you were only nervous, the Holmes aren't an easy bunch to get along with" she joked before turning to a camera "I'm only kidding Mycroft" she added in the direction of the camera which made John laugh wildly as they walked.

"What about your family?" she asked hoping that he would divulge more information than usual.

He sighed and spoke gently "I suppose your old enough to know. There's your aunt Harry, who you met before, that year at Christmas" he started. She could vaguely remember meeting John's sister on one occasion, although she hadn't been introduced as their daughter because she was drunk at the time. They ended up throwing her out and she hadn't seen her again. He continued "My mum was a caring woman, always doing her best for us, she was always happy and understanding of us and our sexuality" he paused briefly. "Harry came out first, it wasn't ideal but she didn't mind. I came out to her a few years later, she only wanted me to be happy, she was upset that she wouldn't have any grandchildren. She died just before I turned 16."

"What about you dad?" she asked.

"He was less understanding, ex-army himself, when Harry came out he couldn't understand. He loathed her, sent Harry to the bottle. When he found out I was the same he was even less understanding. When my mum died, he couldn't handle it, went to the drink and became violent. Harry got herself out by moving in with her girlfriend at the time, I couldn't go with her. I enrolled as soon as I turned eighteen. Haven't seen him since."

Instead of offering condolences she just gave him a reassuring smile. "and somehow you turned out to be the best man I know, must have got it from your mum. From what you've just said your more alike than you think."

Instead of replying John simply bumped his shoulder against his daughter, she smiled and mimicked the movement as they walked back to the flat in silence.


	9. Boundaries

**Boundaries **

Juliet was smiling as she walked up to her room, she had been dating James Marshal for four weeks and everything was just perfect. They had talked about everything and kissed, kissed a lot but decided not to rush into things because it was her first time. Another date, to a small restaurant had passed successfully and Juliet was quite tired, relieved to be home.

The door to her room was ajar, she frowned particularly remember closing it before she left for her date. She pushed the door open without stepping in. Already she could see a draw opened slightly and that the papers on the desks were out of order. Her sheets were also slightly crumbled, unlike most mornings she had made the bed and left it without a crease.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me?" she mouthed, dropping her bag in the doorway and storming back downstairs. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" she spat as she walked into the longue, her eyes on Sherlock. The consulting detective looked up from his phone, John was sat in a state of confusion about what she was talking about. "Start explaining" she demanded, moving her hands to her hips in a dramatic fashion.

John spoke through pursed lips "What's wrong?"

"Ohh so you haven't told him" she addressed Sherlock before turning back to John, her voice angry. "He has searched my room. Very poorly I'm afraid, left the door open, as well as two draws, the papers on the desk are out of order and the bed sheet crumpled. Now am I going to get a bloody answer? Why did you search my room?"

Sherlock sighed in defeat "I was just curious, I wanted to know how far your relationship with this James boy has progressed." He admitted, earning him two glares.

"And asking didn't come to mind?" she shouted. She looked at his clueless face. "No, why would it? Your Sherlock Holmes, a fucking Genius who reads people like books. Of course you weren't going to ask about the status of my relationship, you had to search my bedrooms for clues that I was still a virgin. I am still a virgin, by the way if it bothers you that much. See how easy that was."

John stood up ready to comfort his daughter, instead she shied away from him. "No. you do not come to clean up his mess, he is a grown man." She turned to look at Sherlock "You have made a big fucking mistake if you think I'm going to let this go. You have overstepped your boundaries, and do not think for a minute that I will not get you back for this. Because I.O.U Sherlock Holmes, so you best be ready because payback is going to be a bad-ass back stabbing bitch." With that she stormed from the room, already thinking of payback and how sweet it was going to taste.

Juliet was sat calmly in the middle of the longue drinking a cup of tea while the Yarders ransacked their flat in the search for drugs. A dangerously evil smile crossed her lips knowing that Sherlock would be home any moment to find his belongings had been gone through. The anonymous tip had been the most difficult part, but with a burner phone and the alias of a witness to a dealer being mugged by a tall bloke with dark curly hair that was well spoken, wearing a long grey coat. The call hadn't taken long to reach Lestrade and the drugs bust had taken place at the exact right time. Ten minutes after John and Sherlock left for their dinner date. Twenty minutes later, they would be coming back, likely unable to keep their hands off each other.

She took a sip of her tea before resting the cup on the small table.

"I'm sorry about this Juliet" Greg came into the longue apologising as the Yarders continued their search.

"No, it's quite alright. You have no need to apologise, your only doing your job after all." She forced a slightly sad voice. "I mean it's not you that has the explaining to do" she left unsaid _it's Sherlock that has to explain_. The sound of the door opening downstairs made her stomach flip in anticipation.

Within a moment both Sherlock and John had rushed upstairs and were standing in the longue. "What's the meaning of this?" he asked in a very annoyed tone, his hands on his hips and brow knitted.

"Drugs bust" Juliet answered before Greg could even open his mouth. "Daddy dear, I do hope you're not using again because I believe Mycroft will file for custody this time." She said in her most accessible mock sincere tone.

Sherlock's face dropped and he snapped "You did this" he pointed to her. "You orchestrated all of this."

Lestrade stepped forward raising his hand slightly "Sherlock calm down but we had a call about a mugging of a dealer, the description matched you to a 'T' I'm afraid. We're just doing our job."

"It's not exactly hard to put in a phone call to Scotland Yard claiming that you saw a dealer being mugged" Sherlock stated.

"There are thumbs in the microwave sir…" Sally Donovan's voice came from around the corner, she poked her head around.

"Put them back. It's for an experiment." Sherlock snapped.

Anderson's was practically humming as he came began to climb the stairs to her bedroom. Juliet stood up quickly "surely my room doesn't need to be searched, I'm not exactly going to be hiding my Dad's drugs, am I?"

Lestrade gave her a small apologetic look before turning back to Anderson "Leave her room, she's right anyway."

Anderson came back into the longue with a huge grin on his face as he looked through the desks. Juliet smiled at Greg "Thank you" she smiled adding "I've already had my room searched once this week."

"STOP THIS! STOP THIS NOW!" Sherlock shouted at the top of his voice, walking forward till he was inches from Juliet. All eyes were on the two of them. "This is not the time for your petty revenge, this has gone far enough."

Juliet could feel the eyes on her as Sherlock glared at her. "You don't want to do this right now Sherlock, with a few words I could send your world tumbling down. I may be your daughter but I guess I can also be your worst enemy."

Sherlock glanced in the general direction of Greg for a few seconds before looking back to her, speaking with a slightly hushed voice this time. "What do you want from me?"

"An apology" she answered quickly.

"No" he answered just as fast. "I have nothing to apologise for."

Juliet gave a small laugh "then sit here and watch helplessly as they rummage through all your belonging."

Sherlock at this point could barely contain his anger. "You couldn't even begin to understand this any of this, you're just a child, a stupid child."

She jerked back at his words. Her face heating up in anger. "No Sherlock it's you that doesn't understand. It is not alright to forget about your child, it is not alright to go through their bedroom just to see if they've had sex with their boyfriend. It is not fine, none of this is fine." She took a step around him, not wanting to push him over as she past, he turned to follow her.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Anywhere that isn't here with you." She screamed in response, grabbing the long winter coat from the hook. She saw John and Sherlock both move towards her. "If you even think of following me I will get the first fucking train out of London and you would never be able to find me."

Juliet stormed out of the flat, pushing past at least two people on the stairs. She walked aimlessly for ten minutes, tears running freely down her face. A silver car pulled up beside her, the window rolled down so she could see Greg. "Get in" he said simply.

"Leave me alone" she responded. She didn't want to be near anyone right now especially someone as nice as Greg.

Greg lent over the passenger seat, opening the door "Get in the bloody car" he snapped. Obediently she climbed into the passenger seat, fastening her seatbelt as she sat down. "You're staying with me tonight, no arguments, John already knows." He said calmly.

They pulled up at Knightsbridge, Greg let her into the expensive flat. She took off her coat and shoes, not wanting to forget her manners and collapsed on the sofa. She was part laying, part sitting with her back lent against the arms of the chair.

"Make yourself at home" Greg called from the kitchen like he always did when she visited. She could faintly hear voices from the kitchen as Greg filling in Mycroft about what had happened.

After ten minutes they both walked into the room, Greg with a beer in hand and Mycroft with wine. "Would you like something to drink?" Mycroft asked as he sat down on the sofa with her. Greg moved into one of the other chairs.

"No thank you" she said weakly. Turning her head further into the pillow so she didn't have to look at either of them, she couldn't face talking right now.


	10. Midnight Serenade

**Midnight Serenade **

Mycroft and Greg had gone to bed hours ago, just like she had. Yet a mere three hours later and she was still awake, sleep escaped her. Instead she was sat in front of Mycroft's piano, her fingers producing the melody that had been echoing in her mind for days now.

Juliet could feel the slight breeze from the open door which she had closed and hear the breathing of Mycroft Holmes. She didn't acknowledge him instead she continued playing until the melody finished. "I know your there Mycroft, didn't your mother ever tell you that staring is rude" she mocked, leaning back on the stool slightly and sliding over so that Mycroft could sit with her. He sat down the satin of his dressing gown and pyjama's brushing against her arm slightly. Juliet was sat in some similar pyjama's that he has purchased for her in case on emergencies, and today was most defiantly an emergency.

"I'm sorry if my playing woke you" she apologised, running her hands through her hair before fastening the tangles into a messy pony tail.

"You didn't wake me" he said simply, resting his fingers on a high C and sighing "Your father loves you Juliet, I think you should try your best to remember that."

Juliet rolled her eyes, expecting this conversation. "It doesn't seem that way sometimes." She said in response, she knew how feeble it sounded but to a seventeen year old girl knowing your dad loved you would help any situation. "He went through my room."

"I know" Mycroft admitted, sighing loudly "It may not have been the smartest thing he has ever done but I can understand it."

"So you condone it?" she asked, her voice colder than she had anticipated.

"No, you are no longer a child and deserve your own space, that is entirely your own. He was merely attempting to get information that he didn't know how to get from you."

Juliet rolled her eyes at him. "He was checking my rooms for signs that I had been sleeping with my boyfriend, if he asked I would have told that that isn't the case." She smiled as it dawned her that the conversation was getting surprisingly awkward. "But we don't have to talk about that now." She added.

"Tell me what's wrong then" he breathed, his hand settling on three keys.

"Over the last few months he's become distant, even more so than usual. He's been forgetting me, avoiding talking to me and not listening to what I have to say. He has become unreasonable." She explained, ducking her head down slightly. "I know that he is a self-diagnosed sociopath but he loves my dad, and I always thought that he would love me. It just doesn't seem like that's the case, I know that they were expecting a boy, so I was a shock to them, I thought that he would be able to love me still."

"He does love you, a lot more than you think, he just doesn't know how to show it, he only knows how to be himself."

"Do I disappoint him?" She asked, raising her head enough to see Mycroft's brown eyes.

"Why would you think that?" he answered with a question, very Holmes like.

"Because I'm normal, average, an idiot." She said harshly.

"What makes you think you are all those things?"

"Because I'm not the same as him and you, I'm not a genius, I haven't skipped years, I'm not already in university."

"And why is that?"

"I think that because I am in my final year of sixth form, the correct year for someone my age and not already finishing Oxford, like you or him. I have picked up other lessons to challenge myself but am not a genius, anything that I have I keep hidden so I can fit in. I keep it hidden so I'm not ridiculed by my peers any more than is necessary." She snapped "My mind is dormant because I keep it so, because I don't want to end up like him, I want to love people and feel things. I want to feel emotions, emotions that he can't show. I do not want to be him but I want him to be proud of me."

"Perhaps then you know that only Sherlock can put your mind at ease about these things." He said simply, standing up. "Now to sleep I think, you do have school tomorrow and I work."

Juliet merely nodded and allowed him to lead her back to the guest room. She laid down and fell asleep after placed her head on the pillow.


	11. Baker Street

**Baker Street**

The drive back to Baker Street in the morning was passed in silence, the car pulled up at half seven which meant that she had half an hour to get to school. During breakfast Mycroft had informed her that he would be taking her to Baker Street then driving her to school after.

She opened the door, letting it swing open and went straight through the flat into her bedroom, ignoring the lingering eyes of her parents.

Mycroft stepped in just as the door upstairs slammed and she began to get ready. Mycroft smirked at his brother, who was sat in his arm chair hands steepled under his chin.

"Rather tactless Sherlock" he gloated "Searching her room, no wonder the girl was seeking revenge."

"Shut up Mycroft" Sherlock howled, not even bothering to look at his brother.

John rolled his eyes before standing his ground "No Sherlock, Mycroft is right. You were out of line, I warned you not to push her away but still you did."

Mycroft cut in at this point "She has been rather troubled, up in early hours of the morning playing the piano" he paused, they all knew that she often composed when upset or troubled. "No need to worry yourselves, I made sure that she got some sleep, even talked to her about it. Do not neglect this Sherlock." He commanded. "She believes that you do not love her because she is not like us, she fears becoming you and to stop herself switches her mind off, keeps it, as she phrased it 'dormant'. She is more like you that you both care to believe, talk to her."

Mycroft stopped, ignoring his brother's glare and John's worried expression and listened as Juliet ran down the stairs. Juliet stepped into the room, her black hair was plaited down her back, her eyes were lined with light blue eye liner. Her uniform was as always, the skirt higher than it was meant to be, shirt sleeves rolled up and socks pushed down.

She ignored both of her parents, instead she looked at Mycroft. "Shall we?"

Mycroft gave a brisk nod "surely you need some lunch-"

She cut in rudely. "No, not today" Mycroft accepted this and followed her out of the flat.

* * *

"Sit down" Sherlock commanded the moment Juliet had made her way up the stairs of 221B. Juliet sighed but sat herself down on the sofa anyway.

"What do you want Sherlock?" she asked with a very annoyed tone, her eyes fixed on the window instead of her father's face.

"I want you to talk to me. I want you to know that you can tell me anything." He said almost too heartfelt for it to be from his lips.

"What do you want me to say? Do you want me to admit it, admit that I hate being myself because I fear that I am a constant disappointment, because I feel like you don't love me, like you never had. All because I'm not you, because I haven't got this Holmes gift that all you seem to have."

"Is that really how you feel?" he managed.

Juliet sighed. "Yes, my mind is a jumble of information that I'm unable to sort through because I try so hard to keep it silent. I don't want to be an outcast, to be a sociopath who is unable to feel things for other people, I want to care, I want to love."

"So instead of reaching your full capabilities you have allowed yourself to seem normal, to seem like the average mind?"

Juliet felt the tear fall down her cheek but ignored it, instead closing her eyes. "I just want to be loved for me, not for some extraordinary mind."

"I do love you." He breathed.

"I know." She managed, closing her eyes tighter. "You ignore me, command me, forget me. It doesn't feel like you love me, it feels like I'm a constant disappointment to you, like you never wanted me. I know that you wanted a boy."

"How?" is all the detective could manage in response.

"It wasn't hard to deduce, quite simple really. You two have little experience with women, and what you did wasn't sufficient obvious from your relationship, you are also not close with any women, in fact you don't understand them. So the logical assumption was that you were expecting and wanting a son, you had the name Hamish picked out." She said, opening her eyes to reveal tears.

"It's not that I don't love you, you can never think that. I only wanted a son because I thought I would be able to understand him better than I would a girl. I don't think that I was wrong, I just need some time to learn – "

"Learn? Parenting isn't something you learn, you've had seventeen years of practice."

"I know. I know." He sighed loudly, running a hand through his curls. "I need you to believe that I love you and for now that's enough."

"I believe you and it is enough for now, I would like to have some time alone, if that's alright." Juliet said quickly.

"Yes" Sherlock mumbled. "Fine. Fine"

Juliet went to her room and closed the door behind her. She just hoped that it would be enough, hoped that she could believe him.


End file.
